The Inside Story

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

The Village is home to unique shops and eateries, residential condos, professional services, and is host to a variety of festivals, concerts, farmers and artist markets.

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is a cluster of mixed-use residential, retail, and office spaces in the former, and fantastically renovated, State Hospital (Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital), set among 480 acres of preserved parkland. The Village is home to unique shops and eateries, residential condos, professional services, and is host to a variety of festivals, concerts, farmers and artist markets.

The State Hospital in Traverse City was closed in 1989 following changes in patient care. Due to enormous pressure from citizen groups and local governments, the state transferred the historic property to the City of Traverse City and the Charter Township of Garfield (and later, Grand Traverse County) under the management of the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation. For the next 10 years, numerous developers, state and local government entities, and citizens were involved in formulating plans for the then vacant and quickly deteriorating buildings and surrounding land. Contentious issues and financial challenges nearly resulted in much of the complex being leveled.

In July of 2000 developer Ray Minervini, along with his team, The Minervini Group, began negotiating with the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation to secure a Redevelopment Agreement to renovate the historic buildings in a way consistent with the Commons District Plan. After several months of negotiations, and with intensified public support, the Commons Board voted to approve The Minervini Group proposal. In May 2002, The Minervini Group acquired the property and immediately began to replace the roof on Building 50, the Chapel, and two cottages to preserve these assets while the phased redevelopment could be completed.

By 2011, 30% of the redevelopment was completed or in progress. The first phase residential and commercial units had full occupancy. When the redevelopment is complete, The Village will encompass almost 900,000 square feet, will have generated approximately $180 million in investment, and will create nearly 1,000 jobs.

Mr. Minervini and associates are committed to the success of this project because they believe in putting people first. Mr. Minervini has traveled Europe and witnessed firsthand villages that have thrived for hundreds of years because they provide spaces and services to enhance conviviality among people. The Village is a multi-economic, multi-generational place that nurtures social gatherings and diverse interests. The Village is a beautifully designed space that simultaneously celebrates and transcends its asylum history, but the real key to its success is that it is a functional place that fulfills a community-oriented vision.

The success could not have been achieved alone: This private sector-led redevelopment was done in concert with public bodies of the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation and relies upon public and private financing. The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is the only Renaissance Zone in northwest lower Michigan, which allows residents and businesses to live and operate virtually tax-free through 2017. Financing for the project was secured through the Grand Traverse County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority; the former Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; Federal and State Historic Preservation Tax Credits; other tax abatements, public sector grants and loans; reservations from commercial and residential buyers; and other private investment.

Visit thevillagetc.com or contact Ray Minervini at 231.941.1900 x16 for more information about The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.